Taxation of Interest Income

Why is interest income taxed so much more heavily than other forms of capital income? This differential tax treatment has generated substantial tax arbitrage, resulting in lower tax revenue, efficiency costs, and apparently net gains to rich borrowers and net losses to poor lenders, together suggesting that this tax treatment makes no sense on welfare grounds. In examining this argument more formally, this paper reveals two omitted considerations that can help explain the existing tax treatment. First, the forecasted increase in the market interest rate results in a redistribution from rich borrowers to poor lenders. Yet this redistribution comes at no marginal efficiency cost, starting from a situation with no distortions to portfolio choice, so at the margin dominates further redistribution through the income tax. In addition, information about an individual's portfolio choice reveals information about her earnings ability, even controlling for observed labor income, if those who are more able tend to be less risk averse. By making use of this extra information about earnings ability, the tax system can be better tailored to redistribute from able to less able, for any given efficiency cost.     

我国再分配逆向调节的成因及对策探析

再分配逆向调节是再分配调节国民收入差距的异化现象。当前,我国再分配无论是财富的归集还是财富的支出都出现了逆向调节,加剧了初次分配所形成的收入差距。以税收、社会保障、转移支付为主的我国再分配调节机制没有正常发挥缩小收入分配差距的作用的原因,既包括再分配调节机制本身的缺陷,也包括作为再分配调节机制运行基础的体制性因素。因此,在完善我国再分配机制的过程中既要考虑健全调节机制本身,同时要改革作为再分配调节机制运行基础的体制性因素。     

养老保险制度收入再分配效应文献综述

养老保险的收入再分配效应是学术研究者关注的重点。根据研究范式及趋势,系统梳理了国外对养老保险代际代内、制度转轨、私有化等方面的再分配效应以及关于民主选择行为对收入再分配效应影响的新进展;同时回顾了国内学者对现收现付制、制度变迁以及我国特有的"统账结合制"收入再分配效应的研究,为进一步研究拓宽了视野,奠定了理论与实践基础。     

Optimal Poverty Reduction, Adjustment, and Growth

This article analyzes poverty reduction policies in an appliedoptimal growth framework. Assuming that poverty reduction iseffected through redistribution, it focuses on the static anddynamic tradeoffs between equity and efficiency and on the choicebetween current income and future income (that is, current productiveasset) transfers to the poor. By numerically estimating a stylizedeconomy, it is shown that, given reasonable assumptions aboutbehavioral parameters, the efficiency cost of poverty reductionin an economy on a steady growth path is relatively low. Ina period of adjustment following a severe exogenous shock, however,the scope for redistribution may be extremely limited if thereis a constraint on foreign borrowing. Plausible examples aregiven of adjustment cases in which poverty reduction becomesoptimal only after partial adjustment has been achieved.     

The Effect of Monetary Policy on Consumption Inequality: An Analysis of Transmission Channels through TANK Models

What transmission channels drive the effect of monetary policy on consumption inequality? This paper investigates this question with tractable Two-Agent New Keynesian models with search-and-matching frictions and wage rigidities. I make a distinction between credit-constrained households and unconstrained households and find that an expansionary monetary policy shock decreases consumption inequality between those two households through three channels: (i) the income composition channel, through fluctuations in labor and profit income; (ii) the savings redistribution channel, through fluctuations in real interest rate; and (iii) the earnings heterogeneity channel, through fluctuations in unemployment. The results are in line with the empirical evidence.     

Taxation and Migration in a Federal System

This paper discusses how taxation may affect migration, economic efficiency and income distribution. The institutional framework is a federal system, in which local authorities are responsible for the supply of public services and the financing of these services, and where the central authorities are in charge of income redistribution. The main conclusion is that a moderate policy of income redistribution is associated with greater centralization of the work force and greater economic inefficiency than is the case with both radical and more limited policies of redistribution.     

社会保障对收入分配差距的调节效应——基于陕西省宝鸡市住户调查数据的实证研究

社会保障具有重要的收入再分配功能,在很多国家社会保障都是调节居民收入分配差距最重要的手段。本文对陕西省宝鸡市住户调查数据的实证研究表明,社会保障转移性收入缩小了居民收入分配差距,使城乡居民收入的基尼系数下降了4.5%,其中城镇居民基尼系数下降22.8%,农村居民基尼系数下降1.82%。但由于农村居民获得的社会保障转移性收入远远低于城镇居民,从而导致城乡收入差距上升23.17%。为抑制收入分配差距的进一步扩大,中国应重视社会保障对收入分配的调节作用,进一步增加社会保障的财政投入。尤其要加大对农村社会保障的财政投入,尽快扭转社会保障对城乡收入差距的逆向调节。     

Concavity of utility,concavity of welfare,and redistribution of income

The marginal social value of income redistribution is understood to depend on both the concavity of individuals’ utility functions and the concavity of the social welfare function. In the pertinent literatures, notably on optimal income taxation and on normative inequality measurement, it seems to be accepted that the role of these two sources of concavity is symmetric with regard to the social concern about inequality in the distribution of income. Direct examination of the question, however, reveals that this is not the case. Concavity of utility has a simple, direct effect on the marginal social value of redistribution, as might be expected, whereas concavity of the social welfare function has a more subtle influence, one that in some cases may not be very significant. The implications of this difference are examined for some standard forms of utility and welfare functions, including particular versions that appear in the optimal income taxation literature.     

The dynamics of government

We model income redistribution with dynamic distortions as determined by rational voting without commitment among individuals of different types and income realizations. We find that redistribution is too persistent relative to that chosen by a planner with commitment. The difference is larger, the lower is the political influence of young agents, the lower is the altruistic concern for future generations, and the lower is risk-aversion. Furthermore, there tends to be too much redistribution in the political equilibrium. Finally, smooth preference aggregation, as under probabilistic voting, produces less persistence and does not admit multiple equilibria, which occur under majority-voting aggregation.     

与香港个人所得税的比较及启示

香港的“入息税”采用分类税制 ,与大陆的个人所得税相类似。若我们能结合国情 ,研究和借鉴发达国家或地区个人所得税制度的有益经验 ,相信对改革现行的个人所得税制、充分发挥其在收入再分配方面的作用定会有所裨益     

Redistribution as Social Insurance and Capital Market Integration

In this paper we claim that enhanced economic integration can call for an increase in redistribution among workers. When individuals are risk averse and no human capital insurance is available, the share of workers who choose to invest in specific human capital will be inefficiently low. Redistribution among workers plays the role of the missing insurance market by making the investment in the specific skills more attractive. Capital market integration has two different effects. On the one hand it makes labour income taxation more distortionary, therefore reducing the optimal tax rate on labour. On the other hand, it increases the variance of specific labour wage and widens the scope for risk protection of specific human capital through the redistribution implemented by a labour income tax. We show that the insurance effect of redistribution can be stronger than the distortionary effect, so that the optimal tax rate on labour income can increase when capital markets become more integrated.     

超越再分配调节:对税收促进共同富裕作用的全景认识及政策建议

税收是影响共同富裕的重要因素,但目前社会各界对税收与共同富裕之间的关系的认识,更多局限于通过收入转移实现再分配进而缩小贫富差距方面。基于理论逻辑与政策实践相映照、历史经验与发展进路相结合的分析表明,税收对共同富裕的影响是超越再分配调节的,理应在广阔的时代视阈下形成对税收促进共同富裕作用的全景认识。进入后小康时代,税收促进共同富裕的作用定位是推动经济高质量发展、优化社会分配结构、保障公共服务供给、促进绿色转型发展、缓解空间发展不平衡、助推民主法治建设。对照这六大作用定位的基本要求,目前税收在促进共同富裕方面还存在一些薄弱环节与不完善之处。因此,今后要以实现共同富裕为目标导向,找准公平与效率的结合点,进一步深化税制改革、完善现代税制,使税收在扎实推动共同富裕进程中更好地发挥作用。     

Interregional Income Redistribution and Convergence in a Model with Perfect Capital Mobility and Unionized Labor Markets

The model presents a general equilibrium dynamic model of an economy consisting of many regions. Capital is perfectly mobile and labor is immobile across regions. Wages are determined by local unions. There is training on the job and strategic complementarity between investment in physical capital by firms and investment in becoming “trainable’’ by workers. Structurally similar regional economies preserve forever their differences in per capita output and employment rate, if the workers’ non-labor income is equalized across regions by interregional income redistribution operated via central budget. Regional decentralization of income redistribution allows convergence in per capita output and employment rate.     

基础养老金统筹层次的收入再分配效应

推动基本养老保险由省级统筹向全国统筹过渡是我国现阶段社会保障制度改革的重心,对于实现经济的公平高效发展具有重要意义。为此,选取2006—2017年全国31个地区的面板数据,以基础养老金省级统筹过渡到全国统筹后,不同地区及不同收入群体间的收入再分配效应为研究对象,从统支视域出发,采用渐进式计发办法预测2041年统筹层次提升后,各地区不同收入群体的基础养老金待遇水平,并结合泰尔指数和离散系数进行比较静态分析,结果发现：养老金统筹层次提升存在着显著的收入再分配效应,但各地区养老金待遇差距与其经济发展水平并无必然联系。     

权衡中的创新——双元所得税评介

双元所得税是与综合所得税、单一税并列的一种个人所得税的主要模式,其特征为双元税基、双元税率和限制优惠。双元所得税的优点是兼顾了税收收入和国际竞争力、兼顾了效率和一定程度的收入再分配、避免了对资本的重复课税、降低了由于通货膨胀带来的对资本所得的过度课税、简化了税制。双元所得税契合了北欧各国社会经济状况对税制的要求,因此,成为北欧国家个人所得税的首选模式。     

Redistribution, production inefficiency and decentralized efficiency

This paper analyzes the role of production distortion in income redistribution in an international trade model. In particular, it examines the role of the Stolper and Samuelson effect on efficient income redistribution. It first shows that production inefficiency can be part of a Pareto-efficient tax system for a small country when there is an asymmetric information problem between the government and individuals. Second, the paper shows that such production inefficiency is not only Pareto-improving for a small country, but is also essential in achieving worldwide tax-constrained Pareto-efficient allocation. These two results suggest important implications for commercial policies. The original version of this paper was circulated in 1996 as No. 391 of the Discussion Paper Series of Research Seminars in International Economics at the University of Michigan (http://www.fordschool.umich.edu/rsie/workingpapers/wp.html), with the title “Tariffs and production subsidies as devices to relax the incentive problem of a progressive income tax system”. Since the distribution of the working paper version, this paper has been cited and used in several papers, such as Guesnerie (2001) and Spector (2001). I hope that this updated version of the paper is useful for researchers.     

信贷增长如何影响中国的收入和财富不平等

本文基于中国家庭追踪调查(CFPS)数据考察了信贷增长对中国家庭收入和财富不平等的影响。整体而言，信贷增长可以缩小家庭收入不平等，主要作用机制是信贷增长通过提高中低收入群体的劳动收入和单位时薪以缩小劳动收入不平等。同时，文献中所发现的信贷增长可能恶化收入不平等的机制——扩大家庭间非货币金融资产差距，在我国表现并不明显，原因在于中国家庭的非货币金融资产比例较低，这一点对于高收入家庭也不例外，且大部分家庭难以从金融资产交易中获利。信贷增长带来了各个收入组的房屋价值上涨，但高收入家庭房产价值上涨的幅度高于中低收入家庭，因此房价上涨扩大了不同收入家庭所持有的房产价值差异。考虑到家庭调查数据往往对高收入家庭的收入和财产覆盖不完整，上述结论可能低估了信贷增长对极少数高收入家庭收入和资产的影响。本文有助于更好地理解我国信贷增长对收入分配问题的影响，为相关政策制定提供了一定启示。     

论居民收入分配中政府维护公正兼顾均平的分类调节

本文从廓清公平的概念入手,认为应区分规则公正的"公平"和结果相近的"均平"这两个不同对象,以消除中文语境中"公平与效率"问题的混乱;并认为,政府在居民收入分配方面的责任应当是"维护公正、兼顾均平、高端调低、低端托底";在收入再分配方面,应以对近年来收入差异形成原因的正确分析为前提,进行分类调节。     

财政社会保障支出与消费——基于部分欧元区国家与我国的实证分析

财政社会保障支出是否能够以及通过何种途径增进消费拉动内需,理论界一直存在争论。本文认为,从理论上讲,财政社会保障支出可以直接增加个人和居民的收入,从而增加消费量;也可以作为一种收入再分配的手段,通过增加全社会的边际消费倾向而增加消费。本文选取10个欧元区国家1996-2005年的面板数据和我国1996-2005年的时序数据分别建模,得出的结论是：欧元区国家与我国的财政社会保障支出对消费总额的影响都是显著的,但是由于经济发展水平及社会保障制度的发展阶段不同,两者的财政社会保障支出通过平均消费倾向等中间变量而对总消费的影响是有差异的。     

Rethinking the Pfähler–Lambert decomposition to analyse real-world personal income taxes

We provide a generalization and adaptation of the decomposition methodology by Pfähler (Bull Econ Res 42:121–129, 1990) and Lambert (The distribution and redistribution of income, 1st edn, 1989, The distribution and redistribution of income, 3rd edn, 2001), designed to assess the redistributive effect of personal income taxation. In particular, we generalize the methodology to several deductions, allowances, schedules or tax credits, making it suitable for real-world complex tax structures, especially dual income taxes. Additionally, we avoid the problem of sequentiality on the measurement of partial redistributive effects and also take into account the re-ranking effects of tax treatments not related to income. Finally we illustrate the utility of the methodology by carrying out an empirical analysis for the 2007 Spanish Personal Income Tax, which meant a shift from a quasi-comprehensive to a semi-dual income tax.